Draft appliance.



W. F. GAINES. DRAFT APPLIANCE. APPLIOATION FILED mm 2, 1909.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

vu M W aw Witnesses W alimncql,

ANDREW. B. GRAHAM C0,. PMOYO-LITHOGRAPIER5. was" new" 0 Q WISTER F.GAINES, OF CROSS CUT, TEXAS.

DRAFT APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 2, 1909. Serial No. 499,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVIsTER F. GAINns, citizen of the United States,residing at Cross Cut, in the county of Brown and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft Appliances,

' of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to draft apparatus and more particularly to aside draft for wagons and similar vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide a side draft device capable ofbeing readily attached to or removed from a wagon or other vehicle andby means of which a third horse may be hitched to the vehicle whenhauling heavy loads.

A further object of the invention is to provide a side draft attachmentincluding a pull rod having one end thereof operatively connected withthe rear axle of the wagon and its opposite end extended through a guidebracket and provided with a swingletree for attachment to a draftanimal.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve thisclass of devices so as to increase their utility, durability andefliciency.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is atop plan view of a wagon provided with a side draft attachmentconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detailperspectiveview of the side draft attachment. Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of one of the standards or stakes of the wagon body showing themanner of mounting the supporting bracket thereon.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and ind1- cated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The improved side draft apparatus forming the subject matter of thepresent invention is principally designed for attachment to farm wagonsand similar vehicles and by way of illustration is shown in connectionwith a wagon of ordinary construction in which 5 and 6 indicate thefront and rear axles connected by the reach 7, and 8 the stakes orstandards.

The device comprises a pull rod 9 having its opposite ends bent toproduce terminal eyes 10, one of which engages the hooked end 11 of aspiral spring 12, the opposite book 13 of the spiral spring beingdetachably connected with'the adjacent link of a chain or other flexiblemedium indicated at 14.. The chain 14 embraces the rear axle G at theadjacent traction 'wheel 15 and is maintained in position thereon bymeans of the thimble on said axle, as shown.

The pull rod 9 is extended through a guide loop 17 in a depending arm orbracket 18 while the adjacent eye 10 of the pull rod receives a lap link19 carried by a swingletree 20. The depending arm or bracket 18 ispreferably formed of a single piece of spring metal, the fixed end ofwhich is provided with a terminal crank arm 21 adapted to enter acorrespondingly shaped opening extending transversely through theadjacent standard 8, the arm or bracket 18 being locked against tiltingmovement by means of an eye bolt 22 interposed between the upper end ofthe standard and the adjacent strap iron 28 of the standard, as bestshown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Attention is here called to the fact that the upper end of the springarm or bracket 18 is curved outwardly and downwardly over the fronttraction wheel 15 so as to permit free rotation of the latter Withoutdanger of the bracket or pull rod coming in contact therewith and thusinterfering with the free movement of the draft animal. It will also benoted that the spring 12 serves to prevent the jar of the wagon fromaffecting the horses shoulder, as the draft animal pulls against thetension of the spring. By lengthening or shortening the chain 14 orcausing the hooked end 18 of the spring 12 to engage different links ofsaid chain, the draft or pull rod may be used in connection with wagonsor similar vehicles of different makes or sizes. Thus it will be seenthat by inserting the crank arm 21 in the opening in the adjacentstandard and subsequently positioning the eye bolt 22 between the upperend of the standard and the strap iron the attachment may be readilyplaced in operative position with respect to the side of the wagon so asto allow the attachment of an additional draft animal when haulingexceptionally heavy loads. In this connection it will be noted thatinasmuch as approximately one-half of the weight of the load issustained by the rear end of the wagon, it necessarily follows that adirect Patented Got. is, ieoe.

connection between the pull rod and rear axle of the wagon willmaterially assist in hauling the same.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that there is provided acomparatively simple and inexpensive device admirably adapted for theattainment of the ends in view. A

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination with a vehicle, of a pull rod having one end thereofoperatively connected with the rear axle of the vehicle and its otherend extended across the outer face of the adjacent forward vehicle wheeland provided with means for attachment to a draft animal.

2. The combination with a vehicle of a guiding member secured to thevehicle and having its free end overhanging the rim of the adjacentforward vehicle wheel, and a pull rod having one end thereof operativelyconnected to the rear axleof a vehicle and its opposite end slidablymounted on the free end of the guide member and provided with means forattachment to a draft animal.

3. The combination with a vehicle, of a guiding bracket secured theretoand having its free end overhanging the adjacent forward vehicle wheeland provided with a terminal eye, a pull rod slidably mounted in the eyeof the bracket and provided with means for attachment to a draft animal,and a flexible connection between the opposite end of the pull rod andthe rear axle of the vehicle.

4. The combination with a vehicle, of an overhanging bracket detachablysecured to the vehicle at one'side thereof and provided with an eyedisposed in spaced relation to the outer face of the adjacent forwardvehicle wheel, a pull rod slidably mounted in said eye, a flexibleelement secured to the rear axle of the vehicle, a spring interposedbetween the flexible element and one end of the pull rod, and meanscarried at the opposite end of the pull rod for attachment to a draftanimal.

5. The combination with a vehicle of a bracket secured to the vehicleand having one end thereof extending laterally and downwardly over theadjacent traction wheel and provided with an eye, a pull rod slidablymounted in said eye, a chain embracing the rear axle of the vehicle, aspring having one end thereof operatively connected with the chain andits other end engaging the pull rod and a swingletree detachably securedto the forward end of the pull rod.

6. The combination with a vehicle including a standard, a guidingbracket secured to the standard, a rod slidably mounted. forlongitudinal movement in the bracket, a flexible element secured at therear axle of the vehicle, a spring interposed between the flexibleelement and adjacent end of the pull rod and operatively connected withboth, and means carried by the opposite end of the pull rod forattachment to a draft animal.

7 The combination with a vehicle including a standard, a bracketdetachably secured to the standard and having its free end overhangingthe adjacent traction wheel of the vehicle and provided with a terminalloop, a rod slidably mounted in said loop and provided with oppositelydisposed eyes, a chain embracing the rear axle, a spring forming aflexible connection between one of the eyes of the rod and said chain,and a draft device detachably secured to the other eye of the pull rod.

8. The combination with a vehicle including a standard having a strapiron secured thereto and spaced from the top of the standard to form apocket, of a bracket having one end thereof provided with a terminalcrank-arm seated in an opening in the standard and its opposite end bentlaterally and downwardly to form an overhanging arm terminating in aguide loop, a rod slidably mounted for longitudinal movement in theguide loop, a flexible element carried by the rear axle of the vehicle,a spring interposed between the pull rod and said element, a draftdevice operatively connected with one end of the pull rod, and afastening member engaging the bracket and extending through the pocketin the standard.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVISTER F. GAINES. [1,. s.] lVitnesses J. WV. GODDARD, J. P. SMITH.

